eric cantor, the majority leader in the house, the republican, he said this in a statement. he said, there has been wide spread and bipartisan opposition to this potential nomination and the president's willingness to move forward despite these concerns only reinforces the signal that he agrees with ha l hagel's extreme positions. cornell, does that -- is that what the president's decision -- >> this is sort of a head scratcher because this is a guy who republicans once supported. i think hagel's crime here in washington is that he dared not walk lock step in with his party in a partisan way. if you look at why they're attacking senator hagel, it's because he did have different views and different opinions and he wasn't afraid to talk about different views and opinions. this is sort of encapsulates why washington isn't working. he's a bold and independent thinker. he didn't walk lock step with the partisans in his party and now they're attacking him for it. >> it didn't take colin powell, the former secretary of state in the bush administration, the retired general, to issue